Method for transporting a set of large longitudinal items, a package system to be used by the method and use of such a package system

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a transportation method and a package system for transporting a set of large longitudinal items such as blades for a wind turbine ( 1 ) or a tower for a wind turbine. Taking wind turbine blades ( 1 ) as an example, the advantages of the invention reside in packaging a tip ( 3 ) of one blade and a base ( 2 ) of a second blade in the one and same package ( 5 ) such that two blades ( 1 ) may be transported in packages ( 5, 16 ) having an overall lateral extension, approximately the same as the base of only one blade ( 1 ) for the wind turbine. Thereby a very compact but also a very easy means of transportation of large longitudinal items such as wind turbine blades ( 1 ) is provided.

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for transporting a setof at least two large longitudinal items such as wind turbine blades orwind turbine towers, said items having first ends with a firstcircumference and second ends with a second circumference different fromthe first circumference. Furthermore, the invention also relates to apackage system for transporting a set of at least two large longitudinalitems such as wind turbine blades or wind turbine towers having a firstend with a first circumference and a second end with a second anddifferent circumference. Finally, the invention also relates to a use ofa package system according to any of the preceding claims fortransporting large longitudinal items.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Transporting of large longitudinal items is often very difficult.The difficulty arises in relation to the type of transport vehicle orvessel used such as a truck, railway, a ship or an aeroplane andaccordingly whether the transport must take place at land, at sea or byair. However, the difficulty also arises in relation to protecting theitems to be transported against any damage that may occur due to themeans of transport, i.e. by truck, by railway, by ship or by aeroplaneand due to the physical element the transport takes place in, i.e.either land, sea or air.

[0003] Until now, transport of large longitudinal items such as windturbine blades and wind turbine towers primarily takes place either byship or by truck, alternatively by railway. Often, transport of theseitems takes place utilising two or more of these transportation meanssuccessively. Accordingly, during transport the Items will initially beloaded from the manufacturing plant onto one kind of said transportationmeans. Subsequently, the items may be reloaded onto other means oftransportation. This puts forward a demand for the package, which theitems are transported in, to be adaptable to different kinds oftransport means. Therefore, the most convenient package means will bestandard containers which may be transported at least by truck, byrailway and by ship without having to change from one kind of packagemeans to another. Alternatively only one kind of transportation meanswill be selected, which may raise the costs of transportation.

[0004] However, it may be very difficult to support the largelongitudinal item in standard containers, just because they are standardcontainers having standard measures and having standardised ways ofcontaining and of supporting goods in the containers. Also, standardcontainers have, as mentioned, standard measures, both standard heights,standard widths and standard lengths. This prescribes standardcontainers certain restrictions of the size and the shape of items thatmay be contained In the standard containers. Accordingly, if largelongitudinal Items such as large wind turbine blade or tall wind turbinetowers are to be transported In standard containers, it is oftennecessary to have the blades or towers extending between two standardcontainers arranged in extension of each other. This is of course acumbersome and odd way of transporting such large longitudinal items.

[0005] Alternatively, special frames may be manufactured for a specificItem for a specific transportation task. This may be wooden frames orsteel frames surrounding part of or the whole of the item. Such frameswill have sizes specially constructed to the specific item to betransported. After the Item has been transported to the final location,the frame will have to be destroyed and disposed of. This involvesproblems to the final receiver of the Item, a problem which may beespecially noticeable in outskirts such as third world countries or thelike countries or at remote locations such as at sea or in deserts wheremeans for destroying or disposing of the frames are not available.Unfortumately, third world countries and remote areas are places wherewind turbines often are placed. Also, it is a waste of package justdestroying the package, but this may however be necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to provide a methodwhich Is easy to use when transporting large longitudinal items, andwhich does not have the limitations that standard containers orspecially manufactured packages have, but which nevertheless still makesit possible to transport the items on different means of transport andreloading the items between these different means of transport with easeand without any danger of damaging the items.

[0007] This object is obtained by a method comprising packaging thefirst end in a first package, and packaging the second end in a secondpackage, and said method furthermore comprising placing the first end ofone item In Immediate vicinity of the second end of another Item, andplacing the second end of the first item in immediate vicinity of afirst end of the other item so that a first package of one item isplaced in immediate vicinity of a second package of another neighbouringitem and a second package of the one item is placed in immediatevicinity of a first package of the other neighbouring item.

[0008] In possible embodiments of the methods the first package and thesecond package are either placed beside each other or above and beneatheach other, respectively. The invention is especially suitable fortransporting wind turbine blades on trucks or by ship.

[0009] Normally a truck will only be able to transport two blades at atime, which is why the invention takes the basis in that at least justtwo large longitudinal items are to be transported by means of theInvention.

[0010] By only packing the ends of the items in the at least twodifferent special packages as the ones mentioned and by placing thesedifferent special packages next to each other, either beside each otheror one above the other, then only the ends of the items are packed, Thepart of the items between the ends are not packed, However, for manylarge longitudinal items such as wind turbine blades or towers, thisdoes not matter as these items are intended to be subjected to differentweather conditions during their normal use, Accordingly, the weatherconditions that the items may be subjected to during transport has noinfluence on the subsequent use of the items. For other large items, thepart of the items that are notcontained in the package system may bewrapped in protective coating or be packed in further package if neededIn relation to preventing any damage of or dirt collecting on thesurface of the items.

[0011] It is also an object to provide a package system without thedisadvantages of the prior art. This object is obtained by a packagesystem comprising a first package for packaging the first end, and saidpackage system furthermore comprising a second package for packaging thesecond end, and where a first package of one item during transport andstoring is placed in Immediate vicinity of a second package of anotherneighbouring Item, and where a second package of said one item duringtransport and storing is placed In immediate vicinity of a first packageof the other neighbouring item.

[0012] Having a package system comprising two individual packages, onefor each end of the large longitudinal items, makes it possible to onlypack the ends of the item without having the need for a packagecontaining the whole package. The packages of the package system willsupport the items in both ends and the intermediate part of the items isnot supported. Also, when having two packages, one for the one end andone for the other end of neighbouring items, then it is possible totransport two items in immediate vicinity but only taking up spacecorresponding to a first end added with a second end of neighbouringitems. This results in, that if the first end of the one item and thesecond end of the other item has different sizes, as example windturbine blades where the root section of the blade has a much largercircumference than the tip of the blade, then the added space of theroot section of one blade and the tip of another blade is much smallerthan the added space of two root sections of blades.

[0013] In one embodiment of either or both the first package and thesecond package, the package consists of a rigid frame and, and wheresaid rigid frame Is designed to support the first end or the second end,of the longitudinal item and where support of the first end or thesecond end, of the item is provided along an inner circumference of therigid frame. In a possible embodiment of the first package andalternatively the second package, the rigid frame of the first package,alternatively of the second package, is provided with support meanswithin the inner circumference of the rigid frame and extending towardsa centre of the rigid frame, said support means being designed forsecuring the first end, alternatively the second end, of thelongitudinal item to the first frame by means of appropriate fasteningmeans.

[0014] By having a frame that is rigid and having support meansextending Inwards from the rigid frame, the rigid frame has a rigiditythat may be sufficient to protect the ends of the item from anyinfluences during transport and the support means are Intended forsupporting the first end or the second end by just securing the firstand or the second end to the fastening means. The support means may berigid in order to establish a very firm securing of the first end or thesecond end to the rigid frame. However, the support means may also beless rigid and perhaps resilient in order to establish a kind ofdampened securing of the first end or the second end to the rigid frame.

[0015] In another embodiment of either or both the first package and thesecond package, the package consists of a rigid outer frame and, andwhere said rigid frame is designed to support the first end or thesecond end, of the longitudinal Item and where support of the first endor the second end, of the item is provided along an inner circumferenceof the rigid frame, and where the package is provided with an innerpacking material within the Inner circumference of the rigid frame andextending towards a centre of the rigid frame, said packing materialbeing designed for supporting the second end of the longitudinal item.

[0016] By having an outer frame that is rigid and having an innerpacking material extending inwards from the rigid frame, the rigid framehas a rigidity that may be sufficient to protect the ends of the Itemfrom any Influences during transport and the inner packing material neednot be rigid enough to sustain any possible influences during transport.Accordingly, the inner packing material may have a resilience thatprotects the ends of the items during transport in order to avoid anydamage to the end of the items, which might occur if the ends of theitems were supported by the rigid frame itself.

[0017] In a still preferred embodiment the rigid outer frame of thefirst package and the rigid outer frame of the second package arecapable of being mutually joined so that the first package and thesecond package form an Integrate unit, whereby the first end of the onelongitudinal item is joined with the second end of the otherlongitudinal item.

[0018] An integrate unit consisting of a first package and a secondpackage in each end of neighbouring items and arranged according to theInvention, makes it possible to transport two Items as if the two itemswere only one Item. Thereby, the ease of transport is further enhanced,especially where at least two Items are to be transported to the samelocation, which as example is the case with wind turbine blades, whereoften three blades for one wind turbine or more blades for more windturbines are transported to the same location.

[0019] In a still preferred embodiment of the package system, the widthof the first package added to the width of the second package Is smallerthan or has the same width as a width of a standard freight containerfor goods, preferably smaller than or about 8 feet, and preferably theheight of the first package and the height of the second package Issmaller than or has the same height as a height of a standard freightcontainer for goods, preferably smaller than or about 8 feet or 8.6feet.

[0020] Combing a first package and a second package so that the addedspace taken up by the two packages has dimensions of a standard freightcontainer, it will be possible to transport the large longitudinal itemsas If the Items were packed In a standard container. This has thefurther advantage that It will be possible easily to transport the itemson different vehicles and vessels in the same way as transportingstandard containers, i.e. on trucks, by railway, by ship or byaeroplane. As Is the case with standard containers, It will also bepossible to transport the same Items in the same package system andstill having the possibility of changing means of transportation byreloading the Items between different means of transportation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] In the following the invention will be descried more in detailwith reference to the accompanying drawing where,

[0022]FIG. 1 shows a package system according to the invention loaded ona truck,

[0023]FIG. 2 shows package systems according to invention loaded on aship, and

[0024]FIG. 3 shows parts of a package system, said parts Intended formutual joining.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025]FIG. 1 shows from the rear of a truck a package system loaded on aplatform of the truck. In the embodiment shown, the package system Isused for packing two blades 1 for a wind turbine. The blades constitutelarge longitudinal Items within the meaning of the present invention.The blades are shown in cross section, the root section 2 of the bladesand the tip 3 of the blades. The root section visible constitutes afirst end of the one blade and the tip visible constitutes a second endof the other blade. The root section 2 of the blades is circular with acircumference and the tip 3 of the blades is oblong with a circumferencethat is much smaller than the circumference of the root section. Also,the root section of the one blade has a diameter being larger than awidth of the tip. From the rear of the truck the root section of oneblade is visible and the tip of another blade is visible. The sectionroot section has a number of holes 4 along the circumference of the rootsection. These holes are intended for bolts for securing the blade tothe hub of the wind turbine when installing the wind turbine.

[0026] The root section of the one blade is packed in a first package 5.The first package is constituted by a frame 6 which is rectangular andhas a width W and a height H. The frame 6 consists of four linear bars7-10, preferably bars of steel, but other rigid materials such asplastic or wood may also be used. The corners of the frame arereinforced by plates 11, each secured to two neighbouring bars. Thereby,the rigidity of the frame is increased. The bars 7-10 are provided withmeans 12-15 for fastening the root section 2 of the one blade to theframe 6. The means 12-15 for fastening the root section to the frameconsist of plate-like elements extending from the frame 6 towards thecentre of the frame. The plate-like elements 12-15 are provided with oneor more holes, said holes being placed along a circumferencecorresponding to the circumference of the holes 4 in the root section ofthe blade. By means of bolts and nuts or the like fastening means, it ispossible to secure the root section 2 of the blade 1 to the plate-likeelements 12-15 of the frame 6 and thus securing the first end of theblade to the frame, that constitutes the first package.

[0027] The tip 3 of the other blade is packed in a second package 16.The second package comprises an outer frame 17, which is rectangular andhas a width w and a height h. The width w of the second frame 17 issmaller than the width W of the first frame 6. The height h of thesecond frame 17 is the same as the height H of the first frame 6. In theembodiment shown, the second package consists of the outer frame 17 andan inner packing material 18. The outer frame 17 consists of four linearbars 19-22. The inner packing material 18 is supported by an innercircumference of the outer frame. The inner packing material 18 ispreferably made of a materiel being less rigid than the outer frame. Themain criteria of the inner material is, that it must not damage theouter surface of the tip of the blade. Accordingly, the outer frame 17and the inner packing material 18 may be made of the same material suchas plastic or wood. However, preferably the outer frame is made of steeland the inner packing made of plastic, preferably glass fibre reinforcesplastic, of wood, of foamed rubber or the like less rigid material thansteel.

[0028] The first package 5 and the second package 16 are mutually joinedalong neighbouring sides, which in the embodiment shown is along thebars 10 and 22. The space taken up by the first package and the secondpackage in a horizontal plane is the width W of the first package addedwith the width w of the second package, I.e. W+w. The space taken up ina vertical plane is the height H or h. Preferably, the added width ofthe first package and the second package, W+w, is smaller than or thesame as a width of a standard freight container, i.e. smaller than orabout 8 feet. Also, preferably the height of the first package and ofthe second package is smaller than or the same as a height of a standardfreight (container, i.e. smaller than or about 8 feet or 8.6 feet.Thereby, when the first package and the second package are mutuallyjoined, the packages with the one blade and the other blade may betransported as if they were a standard freight container. The mutualjoining of the first package and the second package may be provided inany suitable manner.

[0029]FIG. 2 shows in cross-section of a cargo hold 23 of a ship 24 with8 first packages and 12 second packages loaded in the cargo hold of theship. A plurality of first packages and second packages are mutuallyjoined in order to having the package system resemble a standard freightcontainer and thus having the possibility of loading a plurality ofpackage systems into the cargo hold of the ship, said cargo hold perhapsbeing intended for storing standard freight containers. In theembodiment shown, the package systems are also used for packing bladesfor a wind turbine. The blades also constitute large longitudinal itemswithin the meaning of the present invention The suspension of the rootsection of the blades and of the tip of the blades take place in thesame manner as described with reference to FIG. 1. Also, the mutualjoining of the first package and the second package may still beprovided in any suitable manner.

[0030] In the figures shown, the first package and the second packageare preferably placed one beside the other. Alternatively, the firstpackage and the second package may be placed one above the other.However, when the first package and the second package have thedimensions shown In the embodiments In order to contain the root sectionand the tip of a wind turbine blade placing the packages beside eachother has the advantage, as mentioned, that the added width of and theheight of the packages are smaller than or the same as the width and theheight of standard freight containers. However, other packages fortransporting large longitudinal items having other circumferences at thefirst end and the second end of the items may have dimensions which mayresult in that placing the packages above and beneath each other is moreconvenient. Also, other packages may have dimensions so small that It Ispossible to mutually join more than two packages, as example fourpackages consisting of two first packages and two second packages, andstill having added dimensions of the mutually joined packages beingsmaller than or the same as the width and the height of standard freightcontainers.

[0031]FIG. 3 shows a possible manner of mutually joining the firstpackage with the second package. In the figure, the upper bar 9,alternatively the lower bar 7, of the frame 6 of the first package 5 isshown and upper bars 21, alternatively lower bars 19, of the frame 17 ofa second package 16 Is shown detached from the bar 9 of the firstpackage. A right side of the bar 9 of the first frame 6 is provided witha tenon 25 extending outwards from the right side of the bar 9 andhaving a thickness t. Correspondingly, a left side of the bar 21 of thesecond frame 17 Is provided with a groove (not shown) extending upwardsin the left side of the bar and having a width (not shown) correspondingto the thickness of the tenon 25. The bar 21 of the second frame 17being situated at the right side of the first frame 6 is mutually joinedwith the bar 9 of the first frame 6 by sliding the tenon 25 at the rightside of the first frame into the grove (not shown) at the left side ofthe second frame, or visa versa, as shown by an arrow A.

[0032] The right side of the bar 9 of the first frame 6 is furthermoreprovided with a stop 26 extending outwards from the right side of thebar. The stop 26 is intended as a stop when joining the bars 9,21 of thetwo frames 6,17, so that sides S,s of the frames lie in the same commonplane P. Then, only the stop 26 extends beyond the common plane P. Inthe figure, the upper bars 9,21 of the frames 6,21 are shown. The top ofthe bars are provided with eyelets 27 intended for handling the frameswhen lifting and lowering the Items in the frames like when liftingstandard freight containers or when, in other situations, handling theframes themselves.

[0033] Similarly, a right side of a bar 21 of a an outer frame 17 of asecond package Is provided with a tenon 28 extending outwards from theright side of the bar and having a thickness t. Correspondingly, a leftside of the bar 9 of the first frame 6 is provided with a groove (notshown) extending upwards In the left side of the bar and having a width(not shown) corresponding to the thickness of the tenon 28. The bar 9 ofthe first frame 6 being situated at the right side of the second frameis mutually joined with the bar 21 of the second frame 16 by sliding thetenon 28 at the right side of the second frame 17 into the groove at theleft side of the first, or visa versa, as shown by an arrow B.

[0034] Also similarly, the right side of the bar 21 of the second frame17 Is furthermore provided with a stop 28 extending outwards from theright side of the bar. The stop 28 is also intended as a stop whenjoining the bars 9,21 of the two frames 6,17, so that the sides S,s ofthe frames lie in the same common plane P. Then, only the stop 28extends beyond the common plane P.

[0035] The overall width of a frame of a first package and a frame of asecond package is preferably smaller than or the same as the width of astandard freight container, i.e. smaller than or about the same as 8feet. Also, the height of the frames of the first package and the secondpackage is smaller than or the same as the height of a standard freightcontainer, preferably standard 20 feet containers or 40 feet containers,i.e. smaller than or the same as 8 feet or 8.6 feet. The width of astandard 20 feet and 40 feet standard freight container is approximately8 feet, i.e. about 2400, and the height of standard 20 feet and 40 feetstandard freight containers Is approximately 8 feet or 8.6 feet, i.e.between about 2400 mm and 2600 mm. The distance between the lateralplanes of the frames of the packages at the first end of the one itemsand the second end of the other items, and between the second end of theone items and the first end of the other items, may differ depending onthe length of the items to be transported. If possible, the distance isthe same as the length of standard freight containers, i.e. 8 feet, 10feet, 20 feet or 40 feet.

1. A method for transporting a set of at least two large longitudinalitems such as wind turbine blades or wind turbine towers, said itemshaving first ends with a first circumference and second ends with asecond circumference different from the first circumference, said methodcomprising packaging the first end in a first package, and packaging thesecond end in a second package, and said method furthermore comprisingplacing the first end of one item in immediate vicinity of the secondend of another item, and placing the second end of the first item inimmediate vicinity of a first end of the other item so that a firstpackage of one item is placed in immediate vicinity of a second packageof another neighbouring item and a second package of the one item isplaced in immediate vicinity of a first package of the otherneighbouring item.
 2. A method according to claim_1, where the at leasttwo items are placed beside each other.
 3. A method according toclaim_1, where the at least two items are placed above and beneath eachother, respectively.
 4. A package system for transporting a set of atleast two large longitudinal items such as wind turbine blades or windturbine towers having a first end with a first circumference and asecond end with a second and different circumference, said packagesystem comprising a first package for packaging the first end, and saidpackage system furthermore comprising a second package for packaging thesecond end, and where a first package of one item during transport andstoring is placed in immediate vicinity of a second package of anotherneighbouring item, and where a second package of said one item duringtransport and storing is placed in immediate vicinity of a first packageof the other neighbouring item.
 5. A package system according to claim4, where said first package has a longitudinal extension substantiallysmaller than a longitudinal extension of the item
 6. A package systemaccording to claim 5, where said second package also has a longitudinalextension substantially smaller than the longitudinal extension of theitem.
 7. A package system according to claim 4, where the first packageand the second package each have a rectangular cross-section when viewedin a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the items.
 8. Apackage system according to claim 4, where the first package has aheight H and a width W and where the second package has a height h and awidth w, and where the height H is greater than or the same as theheight h.
 9. A package system according to claim 4, where the firstpackage has a height H and a width W and where the second package has aheight h and a width w, and where the width W is greater than or thesame as the width w.
 10. A package system according to claim 4, wherethe width W of the first package added to the width w of the secondpackage is smaller than a width of a standard freight container forgoods, preferably smaller than 8 feet.
 11. A package system according toclaim 4, where the width W of the first package added to the width w ofthe second package is equal to a width of a standard freight containerfor goods, preferably equal to 8 feet.
 12. A package system according toclaim 4, where the height of the first package and the height of thesecond package is smaller than a height of a standard freight containerfor goods, preferably smaller than 8 feet.
 13. A package systemaccording to claim 4, where the height of the first package and theheight of the second package is equal to a height of a standard freightcontainer for goods, preferably equal to 8 feet.
 14. A package systemaccording to claim 4, where the height of the first package and theheight of the second package is smaller than a height of a standardfreight container for goods, preferably smaller than 8.6 feet.
 15. Apackage system according to claim 4, where the height of the firstpackage and the height of the second package is equal to a height of astandard freight container for goods, preferably equal to 8.6 feet. 16.A package system according to claim 4, where the width W of the firstpackage is substantially larger than the width w of the second package.17. A package system according to claim 4, where the first packagecomprises a rigid frame and, and where said rigid frame is designed tosupport the first end of the longitudinal item and where support of thefirst end of the item is provided along an inner circumference of therigid frame.
 18. A package system according to claim 17, where the rigidframe of the first package is provided with support means extendingwithin the inner circumference of the rigid frame and extending towardsa centre of the rigid frame, said support means being designed forsecuring the first end of the longitudinal item to the first frame bymeans of appropriate fastening means.
 19. A package system according toclaim 17, where the first package is provided with an inner packingmaterial within the inner circumference of the rigid frame and extendingtowards a centre of the rigid frame, said inner packing material beingdesigned for supporting the first end of the longitudinal item.
 20. Apackage system according to claim 18 , where the support means,alternatively the inner packing material, is made of a rigid materialsuch as metal, wood, or plastic.
 21. A package system according to claim18, where the support means, alternatively the inner packing material,is made of a resilient material such as an elastomer, foamed rubber or afibre-based material.
 22. A package system according to, where thesecond package comprises a rigid frame and, and where said rigid frameis designed to support the second end of the longitudinal item and wheresupport of the second end of the item is provided along an innercircumference of the rigid frame.
 23. A package system according toclaim 22, where the rigid frame of the second package is provided withsupport means within the inner circumference of the rigid frame andextending towards a centre of the rigid frame, said support means beingdesigned for securing the second end of the longitudinal item to thefirst frame by means of appropriate fastening means.
 24. A packagesystem according to claim 22, where the second package is provided withan inner packing material within the inner circumference of the rigidframe and extending towards a centre of the rigid frame, said packingmaterial being designed for supporting the second end of thelongitudinal item.
 25. A package system according to claim 23, where thesupport means, alternatively the inner packing material, is made of arigid material such as metal, wood, or plastic.
 26. A package systemaccording to claim 23, where the support means, alternatively the innerpacking material, is made of a resilient material such as an elastomer,foamed rubber or a fibre-based material.
 27. A package system accordingto, where the first package and the second package are capable of beingmutually joined, whereby the first package and the second package forman integrate unit, and whereby the first end of the one longitudinalitem is joined with the second end of the other longitudinal item.
 28. Apackage system according to claim 27, where the first package comprisesa rigid frame, said rigid frame being provided with a first part of afastening means, where the second package comprises a rigid frame, saidrigid frame being provided with a second part of the fastening means,and where the mutual joining of the first package and the second packagetakes place by mutually joining the first part and the second part ofthe fastening means.
 29. A package system according to claim 28, wherethe first part of the fastening means consists of a tenon, where thesecond part of the fastening means consists of a groove, and where themutual joining of the first package and the second package takes placeby inserting the tenon into the groove.
 30. A package system accordingto claim 27, where the first frame, alternatively the second frame, isprovided with a stop extending from the frame and outwards in a verticalplane, said stop being intended as a stop for the second frame in thelongitudinal direction, alternatively the first frame, when the firstpackage and the second package are mutually joined.
 31. Use of a packagesystem according to claim 4 for transporting large longitudinal items,preferably for transporting parts for wind turbines, more preferably fortransporting wind turbine blades, alternatively for transporting windturbine towers.
 32. A package system according to claim 18, where thesupport means, alternatively the inner packing material, is made of arigid material such as metal, wood, or plastic.
 33. A package systemaccording to claim 18, where the support means, alternatively the innerpacking material, is made of a resilient material such as an elastomer,foamed rubber or a fibre-based material.
 34. A package system accordingto claim 23, where the support means, alternatively the inner packingmaterial, is made of a rigid material such as metal, wood, or plastic.35. A package system according to claim 23, where the support means,alternatively the inner packing material, is made of a resilientmaterial such as an elastomer, foamed rubber or a fibre-based material.